


Our Beautiful Wings

by JungTaco



Category: EXO (Band), Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Adventure, CLAMP, Fantasy, M/M, tsubasa chronicles au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 06:01:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9870527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JungTaco/pseuds/JungTaco
Summary: The prince of Clow Country loses his memories across worlds, so he, his best friend, two people they've never seen before, and a small bun begin their journey in order to find them





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is heavily based on Tsubasa Chronicles, but not 100%

_Next time I’ll definitely tell him I love him._

_Definitely._

Those words were flowing through my mind that evening, assuring me that the next time I won’t allow a mere interruption to stop my confession from happening.  I stayed there, on my balcony, ignoring the chilly winds that seemed to be seeping through my flesh until it met my bones. I didn’t really care as I gazed at the enormous wing-like structures that I grew so used to seeing, the symbol of this kingdom.  I was wondering If Jongin was still working, albeit it was pretty late. The sky was already dark and it had got really cold compared to just several hours ago.

I smiled, shifting my eyes on the golden fruit I was holding with my both hands, freshly stored memories from earlier unfurling in my mind, like the feathers of a bird fluttering its wings falling gently on the ground for me to see. I have no idea why that comparison came to mind. Maybe it came unconsciously to me because of the stone wings I laid eyes upon every day of my life. I wondered what would happen when the bird that I couldn’t see would remain without its dear plume. Maybe that meant my life came to an end? I didn’t ask myself though what would happen if a hurricane came brusquely and scattered those feathers.

I slowly moved my hands, bringing the apple closer to my lips and, as soon as they came in contact with the cold peel, I felt drowsiness take over. I thought that maybe I should go inside, go to sleep, but then I discovered that when I wanted to turn towards the door, I couldn’t move my limbs. I couldn’t move anything, not even a finger. The last sound I heard before I fell into unconsciousness was the apple colliding with the ground and the last thing I felt was some kind of attraction coming from the stone wings that were in front of my eyes. Actual physical attraction. Some sort of gravity, pulling me towards it.

 

 

I opened my eyes as my senses returned to me. _Return from where?_ The first thing I saw was the face of a boy who was carrying me. _I? Who is this_ I? I felt a heartbeat in my proximity. _His_ heartbeat. I looked up at him once more, feeling calm despite the cold raindrops colliding with my skin like needles and his tense features. And the fact that everything was new to me.

I heard voices, but for now, I kept gazing at the boy. _Why is he holding me?_

I tried to speak up, but my vocal chords still felt sort of… numb. And I was afraid all of a sudden. _What will my voice sound like?_ I moved a finger. _This is unfamiliar._ I looked around. _This is all new._ I looked back at him. _But this feels a little safe._

I then focused my attention on the one who talked in front of the boy. I see a boy. Or… a man… judging by his gaze. Short and donning black clothes, ornate with white, elegant patterns, a pipe in his hand. I had never seen deeper eyes in my life. _Or have I?_

“Traveling to other worlds is not easy though.”

I noticed we were in front of a building. I didn’t know what it was, although it was beautiful and mysterious at the same time.

The boy holding me nodded curtly.

“There will be world full of criminals, worlds full of lies, worlds in the middle of wars.”

Listening to the strange words, I looked at the other people surrounding us and saw another boy, wearing a white cloak and a smile on his face, somehow reassuring. I saw, from the corner of my eye, someone else, standing on the other side of us, taller, stoic, and somewhat scary. All dressed in black and unflinching in front of the cold, almost deriding it.

“You will have to search for them, not knowing where they are, and go through all of this. But don’t waver.”

_Them?_

“Ah, they are here.” The man turned towards a boy, who emerged from inside the building, holding two… creatures. One black and one white, small like stuffed animals, but looking like nothing I’ve seen before. _Not that I would know of it._ One of them jumps directly into the man’s grasp.

“This is Mokona Modoki. It will guide you through the worlds that you will visit.”

My eyes widened at the words that I heard. Worlds we would visit? Was that even possible?

The man smiled, the thing called Mokona talked and the next thing I saw was the expanse of pristine wings. I felt a tingling in my stomach and the unknown boy’s grip tightened around my body. Then a vortex of color unfurled, which contrasted with the lack of sensations in my guts, besides the nervousness and confusion.

I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, he was still holding me. We were in another world.

*

“Who were those people?” Sehun ignored his name being called by two voices in unison from somewhere behind him, Chanyeol and Baekhyun as playful as usual. His confused gaze is fixed on Xiumin, who was drinking his soju undisturbed. “They weren’t from around here, right?”

“No, they weren’t from this world.” He leaned back on the sofa, crossing his legs. There was a seriousness in his eyes that Sehun couldn’t miss, and there was something different about this glint in the wizard’s gaze from anything the boy had seen before. It was unsettling. Sehun didn’t know if Xiumin would answer his questions, but before that he didn’t know what questions he could ask.

“You knew they would come.”

“I did.” He took a sip from his cup.

“Is that really possible? To lose your memories like that?”

“You saw it, right?” A thunder roared outside.

“Yeah, I saw… I somehow feel uneasy about this.” Xiumin extended his hand, offering him a cup.

“Are you worried, maybe? My, what a kind soul…” the man raised an eyebrow, tone almost ironic, but that was only to mask the conviction behind them. Sehun took the cup, taking a seat next to him, almost rolling his eyes.

“I guess I am.”

The people were strangers to him, but he could see stories in their eyes that he couldn’t understand and wishes burning to be fulfilled and he knew it would be hard.

*

Looking around scared and confused, Kyungsoo clutched Jongin's arm without realizing. The latter was trembling too, but he was the only support he had, a stranger that he had to depend upon because he was a nobody, who couldn’t even remember his own name.

“What is this place?...” One of the other two strangers muttered, the taller one, as he looked around, frown on his expression. He seemed alert, as if he was ready for anything, and that was slightly comforting for Kyungsoo, just slightly.

The raven-haired boy looked around, a chilly gust of wind making him tremble, although he wasn’t entirely sure if it was just that. He was scared, in a strange forest. It was probably midday, but the sky was overcast and the trees were lifeless, colorless, branches swaying in the wind.

“Prince Kyungsoo…” Jongin whispered, wrapping an arm around the said boy, causing him to jolt. Jongin looked at him, but he didn’t seem to realize he was being called. “P-Prince.” This time, Kyungsoo shifted his gaze to him, curious, large eyes making Jongin’s heart skip a beat.

"A-Are you talking to me?"

"Yes. You are prince Kyungsoo. And... You must be scared..."

"I know it's not the best moment," one of the other strangers interrupted, the one wearing a robe. "but I think we should at least get to know each other's names. We will, after all, travel together." A strange smile was curling his lips, but it looked uneasy and ready to falter any moment.

"Don't count me in and this." The taller man responded, voice dark and almost whispered.

"Now, now, don't be like that... So you're prince Kyungsoo." the one with cerulean eyes turned to the boy, who nodded slowly and muttered an "I think so."

"I'm Chen. I'm a wizard."

"Mokona is Mokona! Mokona Modoki." the strange, white creature, resembling a dumpling, as Kyungsoo thought, spoke, maybe a little to cheerfully, attracting everyone's attention, so that even the tall man glanced at him, expression staying the same, as if carved in stone.

"I'm-" Jongin started when he caught sight of movement for a moment.

"Someone is there." The man dressed in black uttered, heading towards there, pulling out a boy from behind the tree. A trembling mess with honey hair and doe eyes, contrasting with their surroundings.

"Blackie, let him go, look at how you scared him." the said man threw a deadly frown in Chen's direction.

"I'm not going to just let him run away." he scoffed. Kyungsoo looked at him, wide-eyed. He had never seen someone like him before. Was this how other worlds were? The boy was sporting a pair of antlers, sprouting from between his locks in a way nothing but majestic. But it wasn't only that, although he couldn't point out what it was that he saw so special about this boy.

"So what do you want, boy?"

"N-Nothing! I want nothing from you."

"Then why were you hiding?" the man growled.

"He's scared..." Jongin approached the two of them. "Please, let him go." he pleaded before looking at the boy. "We're not going to hurt you."

"You're too naive, boy. My name is Tao." he said as he let go of the boy's arm, grip having left behind a red mark.

"I... I was afraid... That's why I was hiding..." he took a few steps away from Tao, glancing at him warily. "This is my home and... people usually don't come here..."

The boy's look fixed curiously on Mokona, who stared back at him for a while.

"The feather is near." Mokona spoke and then everyone shifted their gaze to him.

"Where is it?!" Jongin asked, and the boy in front of him panicked.

"Feather? Are you looking for that feather?"

"Do you have it?"

"I... Why? Are you... Are you planning to hurt anyone? To damage this forest?" He frowned, looking at each one of them, eyes lingering on Tao.

"No, we just want that feather... We need it. Please tell us where it is." Jongin insisted, while Kyungsoo was watching everything intently, feeling trust seeping into his being, trust towards this stranger named Jongin, who didn't really feel like a stranger. It was not the proper moment to ask what they were now though.

"What's your name?" Jongin added in a soft voice. He had to find out how he should call the doe-eyed boy and also to let him trust him at least a bit.

"The forest has been like this ever since that feather appeared! It's gotten colder, the trees shed their leaves, the animals are disturbed..." he bit his lip. "It seems almost like it wants to protect itself... even the cave..."

"But the feather isn't dangerous..." Mokona added, soft voice barely reaching their ears. "It is merely a piece of prince Kyungsoo's memory." the boy squinted his eyes.

"Is it?..." he then looked away in thought. Silence mingled with cold wind settled then, until Chen spoke, quietly, as if not to disturb the forest anymore.

"The feather is not dangerous, but the forest doesn't know this... it reacts like our bodies when a virus is inside."

"Chen is so smart..." Mokona remarked.

"So it's not dangerous..." the boy repeated, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. He was still trembling, but they couldn't tell if it was because of the cold or because he was afraid. "I knew it, it couldn't be..." he mused. "I am Luhan..." he looked at Jongin, who gave a faint smile.

"I'm Jongin. Why did you say that? You knew it?" Luhan gave a small nod.

"Follow me." he turned around and began to walk, glancing at the others from time to time. Jongin followed suit, not before taking a hold on Kyungsoo's hand and asking if he was alright. The prince muttered a "yes" and walked by his side. Mokona sat on Jongin's shoulder, signaling for the other two to follow them. Chen was behind them while Tao, who was still sporting a frown, was right in his wake.

In less than a minute, they reached the mouth of a cave, upon which strange plants were crawling, plants with names none of the travelers knew. The wind was getting chillier with every step they took, making Kyungsoo shiver and cling to Jongin, despite his self-awareness.

Luhan turned towards them.

"Since I found this feather I've been having the same dream over and over again... strange, but there were people and places I've never seen... But it was warm and... lovely." Luhan looked at Jongin with gentle eyes. "I don't know what it is, but something as beautiful as that can't harm, right? I think you're right." he told Chen.

"What dream was it?" Kyungsoo spoke, looking at Luhan wide-eyed, curious and slightly impatient. The honey-haired boy remained silent for a while before responding.

"There were people... a family most probably... There are two boys and a man, who is probably the father. And there's a castle and breathtaking landscapes," Luhan's eyes were sparkling as he struggled to find the proper words to describe his dream, how it made him feel. "This place is my home and I love it, but if I had the chance... I'd like to go to that place once... I-I'm sorry, don't mind my ramble... I'll go fetch the fea-"

"That's Clow Country!" Jongin interfered. "Those are Kyung- the prince's memories, they must be it." Kyungsoo looked up at the taller boy, catching a glimpse of happiness in his eyes and tone and he felt trust beginning to swell in his heart.

Luhan blinked, eyes mellow before he turned away, pulling at the strange plants and huffing when they wouldn't give him way to enter. Tao stepped forward then, everyone's eyes on him as he pried the brown curtain of stems from Luhan's way, who murmured a "Thank you". There was a soft glow radiating inside the darkness of the cave.

"That's it! That's the feather!" Mokona exclaimed, bouncing on Jongin's shoulder.

Luhan gingerly took the feather and walked out, extending his arms towards Kyungsoo after taking a last glance towards the strange object.

"Here it is, your majesty."

"T-Thank you." Kyungsoo's response was delayed, because he wasn't used to react to his own name, let alone that kind of appellative. He took the feather, hands trembling. It was warm to the touch and he could almost not feel it on his palms. He gazed at it for a while before glancing at Jongin, large onyx irises seeking for help. Unfortunately the other boy was just as clueless as him.

"Ah! Kyungsoo, approach the feather to your heart!" Mokona spoke, jumping down on the prince's shoulder. He looked at the small being cross-eyed because of their closeness, before focusing his attention back on the feather and doing how he was told. He felt warm all of a sudden, a warmth laced with sadness, for an unknown reason. But again, everything was unknown to him. Kyungsoo widened his eyes before shutting them close, images of home flashing in his mind. A clear sky, his name being called, a boy looking at him with firm and gentle eyes at the same time, another kind voice, another boy with a dimpled smile. His heart was beating with love, for he knew those people all too well, they were his family.

Jongin panicked when he saw a tear trickling down his cheek, forgetting all formalities.

'Kyungsoo, what's wrong?" His brows furrowed together as he hugged the other close.

"H-how could I forget them?..." Kyungsoo sniffed, trying to hold back the tears, while Jongin patted his back and Mokona pressed a kiss against his ear. The little creature had already taken a liking to this prince.

"It's not your fault, Kyu- Your majesty." the taller boy felt a pang in his chest and bit his lip, hesitating. "Did you... perhaps... remember... something about me?..." his voice melted into a whisper, but Kyungsoo heard him in the silence of the woods. The wind ceased and the sky began to clear. The prince wiped his tears before looking at Jongin's face, to make sure he wasn't in his memories. He slowly shook his head, a glint of regret in his eyes, and Jongin’s shoulders slumped as he nodded.

“J-Jongin?” he blinked hearing the familiar sound of Kyungsoo’s voice calling his name. Perhaps…

“Yes?”

“That was your name, right?” Jongin held back a dejected sigh.

“Yes.”

“What were you to me?”

“We have to leave!” Mokona’s voice resounded throughout the forest as he scowled at Jongin, a warning in his eyes. The latter nodded and turned to Luhan, who had so many questions for these strangers, but who said nothing.

“Thank you for trusting us.” Jongin flashed a sincere smile, his gesture mirrored by the honey-haired boy.

“Good luck on your journey!”

“Mokona hopes to see Lulu again soon!” And with that and with a roll of Tao’s eyes, gone they were, traveling towards another world.

*

Yixing worried his lower lip between his teeth, absently watching the golden light seep inside his bedroom through the frail curtains. Guilt was eating at his heart and mind. If he could disappear he would, but now he had to repair what he had done. At least that was what he continuously told himself as he passed his hand through his auburn hair nervously. He sat on the edge of his bet waiting, although he wasn’t sure for what. For bad news probably. As the man the royal family trusted the most, he was aware of the gravity of his mistake. He wasn’t as wise as the others considered him to be after all, and he feared this day. But now that it happened, there was darkness in his soul deeper than his most horrible nightmares. Kyungsoo was in danger, travelling between places unknown to them, Kyungsoo, the little prince of this kingdom and the one whom he saw as a little brother.

He was afraid of seeing the disappointment in Yifan’s eyes when he would find out. He would tell him, he would confess his mistake or at least he would try to.

Yixing had just woken up after having spoken to Xiumin, the dimensional wizard, in a dream. His own pathetic words were still floating through his mind, excuses of a coward. _I didn’t know it would end up like this. That wasn’t my intention._ The other’s response didn’t manage to bring him any solace.

_It was bound to be. You only meant good. If you hadn’t done it, something else would have happened and we’d still be here._

Yixing was now aware of his own selfishness as he was not only concerned about the consequences Kyungsoo and Jongin had to bear because of his actions, but also about the trust that would soon be broken beyond repair, trust that the king and Kyungsoo’s brother had in him.

His attention was partly distracted by the sound of the door opening, although the thoughts were still tormenting his mind in a chaotic way, not allowing him to organize them in any way. He was afraid he would let the wrong words spill at the wrong time in front of Yifan, who just walked in, eyeing him with a serious gaze.

The prince sat down next to him without uttering a word, but the pressure of the silence was too much for Yixing, because there were ugly things that threatened to spill and that he _needed_ to tell. It would have been better if Yifan had asked him something, anything. He sighed, and the prince finally spoke.

“You know, I trust Jongin… I think they will come back just fine…” He couldn’t hide a sniff, and Yixing noticed his bloodshot eyes.

“Do you, really?”

“I think I’ll go crazy if… if I don’t tell myself that. I need some hope to hold onto.” Yifan looked down at his fingers, playing with them absently. The brunet lifted his hand in order to pet the other’s back, but retracted them a second later. Trying to comfort him after what was caused by him didn’t feel right. He opened his mouth, then closed it, biting his bottom lip, before repeating this sequence of actions a few times. He eventually managed to mutter something.

“Prince Yifan…” The said man frowned.

“What is it?” Yixing only called him that when there was something wrong, when he was scared of him or when his trust wavered, although the latter happened only a long time ago.

“It’s…” he gulped. “It’s my fault. Everything is because of me.” His voice sounded calmer than he had expected. Yifan’s scowl deepened.

“What do you mean? That doesn’t make any sense. Hey… are you crying?” The prince’s eyes widened and he wrapped an arm around Yixing’s shoulders, bringing him closer, not failing no notice how the younger stiffened.

*

When Kyungsoo opened his eyes to the new world, his heart was pounding in his chest in anticipation. He ignored the blood red sky extending wherever they could see and immediately searched for Jongin and the others, letting out a small sigh in relief when he saw the boy alert by his side, looking around. He then looked at him, brows furrowed.

“Are you alright, Kyungsoo?” He forgot to correct himself, but the other didn’t seem to notice. He nodded meekly, before looking at Chen and Tao, who sported serious expressions. The wizard’s lips curled into a smile as soon as he caught sight of the prince though.

“This world doesn’t look too friendly either, does it?” he chuckled, but his attempt to ease the atmosphere failed its purpose. Kyungsoo jolted when Mokona hopped on his shoulder, looking in the distance, his little face contorted in concentration. If the boy wasn’t so afraid, he would have thought of it as adorable and smiled at this creature.

Everywhere they looked, they were surrounded by the expanse of the sky of ominous shades of red and orange. Underneath their feet, also extending infinitely, dust was lying dead and everything seemed scorched. There was no wind, no sound, nothing that could infirm Kyungsoo's impression that this was how hell looked like before flames erupted violently from the ground and demons appeared dancing around them. He looked at Jongin again, wanting to cling to him, but instead, he stood still, looking where everyone did.

Something that looked like a city, standing proud in the middle of nowhere, was painted black against the horizon, against the dim light of the setting sun.

"The feather is there..." Mokona whispered. “We have to go there… Mokona doesn’t have a good feeling about this.” In any other circumstances, Kyungsoo would have comforted him, but now there was something twisting in his gut as well.

"I think I can feel it too a little." He muttered.

"Let's not waste more time and head towards there. We might as well finish this, it seems I'm stuck with you." Tao grumbled.

"It seems TaoTao doesn't like companions." Chen smiled at him, and the latter scoffed.

"Don't call me like that."

"Ok, ok, let's go." The wizard continued, and Mokona hopped on Tao's shoulder, startling him and eliciting a chuckle from Kyungsoo. A tiny smile graced Jongin's lips, but he looked away from the prince quickly, focusing on the more important matters.

They set off towards the ominous silhouette of the city in front of them, which gradually grew larger and larger. They traveled for what seemed like hours, although not even one has passed, the heavy silence between them creating that illusion.

The more they approached the humongous dark construction - because that's how it looked now, most of it made of metal, oozing hostility - Kyungsoo felt colder, and he wasn't sure it was because of the chilling air of the evening or the fear that seeped in his bones with every step. He gazed at Chen's and Tao's backs, the two walking before them steadily, bravely, while he, he bearing a name he barely knew despite being his, was cowering behind. Jongin was right next to him, and Kyungsoo could feel comfort because of that, contradicting everything around. He suppressed his impulse to hold onto his arm, impulse that he had no idea where it came from.

 

As they came closer to the city, Kyungsoo took in more of it, more of what seemed a single structure made of hard, cold material, something he had never - probably had never seen before. The buildings were getting taller with every meter walked, towering over them. There were strange constructions hung above the ground, weird forms, hostile angles, metal beams that looked that they would fall anytime, ready to smash the rest of Kyungsoo's brain that remained intact. He shivered at such thoughts, feeling a stranger to his mind.

"These look like trains..." Mokona stated quietly from Kyungsoo's shoulder, eyes on what Kyungsoo supposed was a train. It was rather the skeleton of one, cold bars and nails assembled in ways impossible to imagine for him. Looking up, they could see a network of suspended railways, abruptly obstructing the view of the violent crimson of the sky. An ominous stillness embraced everything despite the purpose of the constructions, which was, of course, movement.

The prince felt the question prick at his lips, but he didn't want to make a fool of himself asking what trains were and what good those things above them did or why everything was like this. Instead he muttered, "I feel something strange."

"It's close." Mokona uttered.

"Can you lead the way?" Chen asked, stepping closer to Kyungsoo, while Jongin flinched. He tried to ignore the spark of trust he felt towards the two men, despite the wizard's strange, almost mystique smile and the darkness that seemed to veil Tao. The latter was scrutinizing their surroundings attentively and curiously. Nothing seemed to escape his gaze and they could confirm when he spoke, eyes widening and body tensing, ready for a confrontation.

"Stay back!" He warned the others, eyes glued to a spot above them, where a shadowed figure was standing. The other four looked in that direction as well. The silhouette instantly climbed down the with surprising agility, and Tao moved to stand between his companions and the stranger, who ran towards him. Tao swiftly blocked his attack, reading the surprise in the man's eyes for a fraction of a second before he tried to kick him. The other dodged, gritting his teeth, missing his sword, which had been given to the one who sent them on this journey. Fortunately, he wasn't useless in fight even without it, and he made sure he made the other aware of that, even though his opponent seemed to be used to using his fists rather than a weapon.

"What are you doing here?" The man uttered, scowling, this time around hitting Tao's stomach with his fist. The latter groaned, fury flaring in his eyes as he skillfully pinned the other to the ground the moment the man glanced at the others.

Kyungsoo flinched, fingers coming to wrap around Jongin's arm instinctively. He felt weak and the discovery that he didn't like feeling weak hit him.

"We need something you have." Tao simply replied, words strange falling from his lips. That "we" seemed unfit, but the danger in his tone was the thing his companions expected.

Jongin stepped forward, just a little, remaining close to the prince, "We don't mean any harm." The man scoffed.

"I'm being pinned to the ground and you're saying-"

"You attacked us first." Jongin spoke, every word clear and firm.

"What is this place and why did you attack us?" Tao hissed, staring at the man underneath, whose dark eyes were glued to his this time.

"I attacked you not to give you any chance to attack first. Now tell me." He tried to push Tao away, uselessly, because the latter was strong enough to keep him there.

Kyungsoo felt the responsibility to answer him because it was, after all, because of him that they were here. Before he could gather the courage to do so though, Jongin spoke up while Mokona was patting his ear, having felt his tension.

"We're looking for a feather." The stranger's man's eyes widened and his body tensed, again gritting his teeth, gaze throwing daggers at Tao.

"There's no way we'll let you have it!"

In the blink of an eye, the cold feeling of metal pricked at Tao's skin as a dagger was pressed against his neck. Still, he didn't budge. The weight suddenly set upon his back didn't scare him. He inferred it was probably a woman or a teen, although he could be wrong, but it didn't really matter. The voice, dark and menacing, confirmed his suspicions. It was indeed a female.

"Where are you from?" She glanced at Tao's companions, noticing the different attire all of them were sporting, not recognizing any of them. "You're not from around here. Why did you come all the way here? Why do you want it?" She spoke at an alert pace, wary of the others' possible actions and ready to attack any of them at any moment if she had to.

Kyungsoo's grip tightened onto Jongin's arm, afraid, but not wanting the other to get involved, preferring him to stay safe, as safe as they could be right now.

"W-We're not from here, but we don't mean any harm, please..." the prince stuttered, trying to suppress the fear in his bones. "W-We just... Umm..." his pulse quickened as he tried to ignore it and search for fit words, but Chen interrupted his attempt of convincing him, which he considered in vain, despite appreciating his courage. A quick sympathetic smile in his direction meant to convey that to Kyungsoo.

"Let's just discuss this amiably, please." His expression was serious, but not menacing in any way. "We really don't want to hurt you, so we'd appreciate it if you got off our friend here." Tao grimaced, the dagger still plastered to his skin.

"Please, my friend needs the feather." Jongin spoke again, and Kyungsoo didn't know the value of the word 'friend', he didn't know whether Jongin just let the first word that came to mind slip past his lips while pleading these people or if they were really friends. "Without it, he will..." He stopped before saying it out loud, which only made Kyungsoo more curious and afraid.

"What importance does this item have for you, people anyway?" Chen asked, a small frown bringing his brows together.

"You want it so bad and you don't even know that?!" The woman asked, staring at him, but still not budging one bit. "It's our energy source! Are you, people, even from this planet?" she scowled incredulously, looking at their clothes again, even though her question was rhetorical. The man underneath Tao had given up on standing up again too soon, and although he believed the entire scene looked ridiculous, he didn't tell her to get off Tao.

"We're... No, actually we are travelers. This is not our world and that feather so important to you is from this boy's world." He glanced at Kyungsoo. "From him, more exactly."

"Bullshit." The word easily slipped from their attacker's mouth.

"Shut up, Changmin." The woman frowned more, although she shared her friend's opinion. "I don't understand."

"Get off TaoTao first and then we'll talk." She hesitated for a few moments, remembering that Changmin was still under there, and then she moved away. Tao immediately rose to his feet as well, hard eyes glued to Changmin.

The woman looked at Kyungsoo, who could now look at both her and her friend properly, their dark close daunting and, he believed, unfamiliar. She was obviously waiting for an explanation from _him_.

"I... I lost all my memories..." he muttered. “They are in the feathers. All around different worlds..." His body was trembling and there were more words on the tip of his tongue, like 'Something terrible will happen if I don't find them', but he kept that to himself.

Changmin scoffed, "Really, that's it?"

"...Yes."

The man was half amused, half annoyed.

"You should go back before I lose my patience and kill one of you."

"That's impossible." Changmin's treat lost its power as soon as the woman spoke, collected as she looked at them, eyes cold. "How old are you, boy? Fifteen? This feather you speak of has been here for a few decades. Stop with the bullshit and return from where you've come."

"No..." Kyungsoo muttered. "That's not possible... It'd been just a few days! R-Right?" he looked at Jongin, fear in his eyes. It melted a little when the answer came.

"Yes... How can that be?..." he frowned, looking at the two strangers, then at Chen and Tao, seeking for answers.

"We are from different worlds... Who is to say that they work by the same rules?" the wizard spoke. "Time might be... one of those things that is different I suppose."

"What's with all this bullshit?..." Changmin groaned. "These people are insane, Amber. Let's just get rid of them." She glared at him for a couple of seconds before focusing her attention on Kyungsoo.

"Supposedly your story is true... its power weakened over the last months. Why is that?"

"I wouldn't know..." the prince responded sincerely. When Amber opened her mouth to speak, sparks erupted not too far away from them, a sudden bursting sound of a cable making the woman and Kyungsoo jolt and everyone else to look at the same spot.

"This is weird..."

"It's the third time today already." Changmin mumbled, accusation sharp in his eyes as he looked at the newcomers.

"It's not our fault. Give us the feather and I'll pay for it." Everyone looked at the wizard, not uttering a word, just trying to guess what was in his mind.

"How do you intend to do that? And why would we trust you?" Despite Amber's apparent distrust, Chen knew she was going to at least allow them near the feather. He couldn't say the same thing about her friend, who was still cautious towards Tao, both of them seeming ready to jump at each other’s necks any second now.

"I'm a wizard. I think I can do something about it."

"Fine."

"Amber!"

"It won't work for much longer, Changmin! It's almost as if we have nothing to lose anyway. We'll just be careful around them. You stay here with the others and I'll go with this guy." She glanced towards the blue-eyed man.

"Can I go too?" Kyungsoo intervened quickly, attracting everyone's attention. When they hesitated, he continued. "It's... it's because of me that this is happening."

"Alright..."

"I want to go too." Tao jumped in, and Changmin was quick to intervene.

“You two are not going anywhere. You’re staying here with me. I don’t want any of you near that place.” He hissed. Kyungsoo watched him for a while and seeing the desperation in the man’s eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to blame him for any of his actions. It was just right for him to try and protect this strange world of his just how he would have done if _his_ was in danger. And it was, in fact, only not the world he was coming from, because he couldn’t know in what state that world was, rather the world inside him.

“I can’t leave Kyungsoo alone.” Jongin glared at him.

“No, you stay here. I’ll be fine, I promise.” He flashed a tiny smile.

“But-“

“And I promise I’ll take care of him.” Chen showed what he thought of as a sincere smile as Amber started walking, signaling them to follow her.

“Be careful, Amber!” Kyungsoo heard Changmin behind them, but the girl didn’t respond. Both him and the wizard followed her silently, side by side. When the prince accidentally met the other’s gaze, the expression in Chen’s eyes was reassuring, although the younger couldn’t trust him fully. He couldn’t trust anyone, not even himself. But he had no choice. He was powerless.

Without saying a word, they took in the desolate view surrounding them, the metal scales on the background of a rusty sky, sand devoid of any kind of plants. As they approached the center of the city, Kyungsoo could see, from the corners of his eyes, silhouettes rapidly moving, hiding away from possible danger, which was, of course, him and his companion. They were mostly little kids, curious but also afraid, clad in dirty, torn clothes. The prince startled when a spark of electricity erupted not too far away from them, pulling him away from his thoughts violently.

“Shit...” Amber mumbled and they continued on their way. Nothing much changed, except the wires and metal seemed more clustered. Everything was darker and somehow more imposing and strange, suffocating even. He felt his heart beating madly in his ribcage, but he fought the instinct to place his hand above it, not wanting anyone to read his emotions. They were close, he could tell.

After the next turn, they found themselves in front of a large gate, so tall that it made the prince dizzy when he looked up. Amber made sure neither of the two could catch a glimpse of the small screen where she deftly entered a code. The sounds of the opening gates startled the boy. As they stepped inside the gates, he almost tripped while looking at the building in front of him, dark and standing tall, seemingly reaching the sky above. Was that even possible? Kyungsoo felt like a child, knowing mostly nothing, his mind a void, except for several things. He took in a few deep breaths, stopping for a little while. To his surprise, Chen stopped as well, apparently not to leave him behind. _I promised I’d protect you_ , his eyes seemed to tell.

“Come!”

“Y-Yes!” After a small jog, the two caught up to the girl, who picked up her pace.

“Look away.” She typed another code in before they could enter the building. It was dark and cold, making him tremble. He felt truly alone here and he tried to think of something comforting, something familiar. That boy popped into his mind, confusing him rather than comforting him. No, he couldn’t trust him just yet, despite the feeling in his guts that told him to. He took in the dead walls of the corridor they were in and Amber’s back in front of him as he tried to think of something else. Mokona, that little creature. It was intriguing and powerful, although it didn’t seem like it. It had taken them to a different universe after all. He couldn’t imagine how such creature would be able to harm someone unless necessary though. He was surprised to find himself smiling at the thought.

They stepped into a cramped room, not cramped enough so any physical contact was necessary, but just enough to make him feel even more uncomfortable. He felt a strange sensation in his stomach when the box – he would rather call it that – started to ascend. He wanted to cling to something or maybe someone but he couldn’t.

The wizard looked on, expression calm, but it seemed he was good at hiding his own emotions.

When the door opened, Kyungsoo began trembling with something akin to excitement and fear. He was startled again when he felt Chen’s hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him most probably. It didn’t work, but the boy whispered a thank you.

They stepped into a room as dark as the rest of the building. Amber turned on the power and the light invaded the space with a buzz of electricity, hurting Kyungsoo’s eyes. He squinted, seeing that Amber stopped. She seemed stiff, but the boy couldn’t say for sure. She let out a deep breath, and Kyungsoo shifted his gaze to the view in front of him. Metal stairs led to some kind of safe, where he presumed his memories were. Tens of cables were connected to it, maybe hundreds or maybe it was just his mind exaggerating. A platform surrounded it, bordered by a banister. The metallic sound of their steps on the slightly wobbling floor resounded throughout the room, Amber’s steps the loudest of them all. The girl was apparently confident, but again, everyone besides him seemed to be able to hide their feelings, and that made him feel vulnerable.

“I’ll get it out.” She looked at Chen. “What are you going to do?”

“I first need to see it… and analyze it a little bit.”

Yet another security barrier had to be passed, so Amber’s swift fingers entered another code, causing the boy to briefly wonder how she could remember so many sequences of numbers. When the metal door opened, his eyes widened at the view of a feather, so unique and beautiful, which emanated a soft glow and warmth. Nothing like he had imagined trapped between wires. The girl carefully took it out and he stepped closer, feeling warmth from the object. He couldn’t ever imagine a bird donning feathers like the one before his eyes, and despite knowing that it didn’t come from a bird, he tried picturing it.

“Can I…?” Kyungsoo extended his hand, but the man stopped him.

“Wait…” Amber took the feather away from its place, causing darkness to replace the almost violent light that had been making Kyungsoo squint, only the small object illuminating their silhouettes faintly. She warily handed the feather to the wizard, who examined it, not able to hide the amazement in his eyes this time around.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?... It’s gonna be night soon and people need light.”

“I am sure.” Chen closed his eyes for a brief moment, stepping aside, a little further away from them. Kyungsoo didn’t tear his eyes off of his companion, whose dry lips were moving, but not uttering a sound. The boy strained his ears in vain, attempting instead to read his lips afterwards. He couldn’t, only able to take in the unusual curl of the man’s mouth and the eyelashes shadowing over his cheekbones as he seemed to be concentrating his power.

He shifted the feather onto his left palm, positioning his free hand symmetrically next to it, as if holding something. The shy light shimmered a bit and the prince couldn’t deny the panic that took over him. What was he doing to his memories? To him? Hi bit on his lower lip, and Amber stepped right next to Chen.

“Wait.” He whispered almost annoyed, frown on his expression. Kyungsoo’s fingers clenched into fists, but he waited. He noticed a faint light forming out of nothing above Chen’s right hand, blue tint slowly growing into a ball of energy of sorts about the size of his fist.

He felt that his eyes would hurt if he were to stare at it for too long, but he couldn’t help it. He was curious, afraid and intrigued by what the wizard was doing.

“Ok… I’m done.” He muttered, slowly turning towards the safe and carefully moving his hand towards it, letting the ball of energy replace the feather. “It should work.”

“What did you do?” Amber hissed, not moving for several seconds, just continuing to watch him. Kyungsoo thought she might have been afraid to actually do something.

“I used the remainder of my magic to create a replacement for the feather.” Both Kyungsoo’s and Amber’s eyes widened as they stared at him. Chen’s voice sounded unusually normal as he announced that, as if he was talking about something as measly as the weather, but that couldn’t be. If he was telling the truth, then that meant the man had just sacrificed what was left of his powers for Kyungsoo. The boy was speechless, in spite of his mind being packed with thoughts.

Amber didn’t utter a word, closing the safe securely. The boy couldn’t see her hands shaking. The next moment, light flooded the room once again.

“You did it...” The girl whispered, looking all around as if she couldn’t believe her eyes, as if it were all a miracle, which kind of was, for she would have never thought someone was capable of doing _this_.

Kyungsoo received the feather with trembling hands, although he was trying to hide it. A surge of strange energy traveled through his body. It felt warm in his hands, before it seemed to slowly fade away, the soft light engulfing his chest and hands, causing him to feel drowsy. He couldn’t help closing his eyes.

  
He heard voices that suddenly sounded familiar and, voices belonging to other people than his family and the same dimpled smile that he remembered last time. Yixing, that was his name. His friend, the one who, a long time ago, now seemingly an eternity, made his heart beat crazily. Now it did so for another reason entirely, other emotions he probably didn't think he would feel.

 

"Let's head back to the others." Amber pulled him away from his thoughts, which were shoved to the back of his head for now, leaving him trembling. The others couldn't help noticing, and although Chen didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, he wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Kyungsoo didn't shy away.

Amber locked everything again, hands shaking just a little bit, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

Outside, night had started to fall, artificial lights now lighting their way, sign that what Chen had done worked.

They headed back with quick steps, the wizard still holding onto Kyungsoo, who was still dizzy.

As soon as he saw the prince approaching, Jongin ran to his side, supporting him as well, asking about how he felt, eyes only on him and hearing only him. Chen smiled at the sight and left the boy in Jongin's care, shifting his focus to Tao and Changmin, who stood there, with an obvious distance between them. Concerned, Changmin headed towards Amber, piercing eyes glancing at the visitors every now and again.

"They... helped us..." the girl muttered. "So don't look at them like that."

"Now it seems like they did, but what if we run out of energy?" He hissed.

"It was bound to happen anyway. I think we made the good choice." She glanced at the wizard, who offered her a smile.

"Thank you for trusting me."

"I still don't trust you." Tao retorted under his breath.

"I don't trust you either." Changmin continued, this time around agreeing with the man. "How much are you going to linger here for?" He addressed all of them, looking each one in the eyes, except Kyungsoo, who was obviously weak.

"We're leaving now." Mokona responded, perched on the prince's shoulder and petting his hair with his little hand.

"Hey! Wizard." Amber stepped closer to the man. "If we discover this was all a lie we'll probably kill you. If not... then thank you and you're welcome to Xyr any time."

"You're most welcome, but in any of those scenarios I doubt we will meet again, despite my hopes. So goodbye.” he smiled, meeting Amber’s confused gaze.

*

“Tell me why you think it’s your fault…”

“I’ll tell you, but…” Yixing looked down, Yifan’s arm around him making feel uncomfortable. “I have to start with the beginning so that you can understand.” He hoped the prince would understand. He had had a hard time trying to wrap his head around the whole situation after all, and he was supposed to be the one who understood magic the best, at least here, in the kingdom.

“Alright.” Yifan nodded and, to the other boy’s relief, retracted his arm.

“You know Clow, right?” he bit his lip before he mumbled, “I mean of course you know him, the country was named after him after all.” He absently played with the sleeves of his shirt as he continued. “Not many know what he did though. What he did before he died I mean.” The prince frowned.

“What did he do?”

“It’s sort of taboo to talk about this. But the way he is described in history books and the way people talk about him is… unreal. They make him seem like a saint.”

“Wasn’t he?” A small chuckle escaped Yixing.

“Not really. He was, indeed, a good leader, but ho human is perfect. No matter how well he can play with magic. Or try to, in this case.”

“What exactly happened then?”

“I guess he didn’t want to give up on his life so easily… He tried something… a taboo spell. I got scared when I first heard about what he’d done. Not because of him, but mostly because I can use magic too… and if I can use magic… I could become weak as well and repeat his mistake.” He added in a whisper, while the prince remained silent. “But I guess I could never go to such extent, because my abilities aren’t on par fortunately.” A small pause followed. “I should get to the point, I know.” He took in a shaky breath and Yifan realized he was afraid of actually getting to the point.

“As I said, he didn’t want to die, so he wanted to transfer his soul into a younger body.”

“Is that even possible?” Yifan frowned.

“Theoretically.”

“So he didn’t succeed.”

“No.” Yixing sighed. “But he tried.”

“Where did he… get that body? Did he…”

“You’re asking if he was willing to kill someone else for that? No, of course not. Clow _was_ a good man.” A mirthless, faint smile curled his lips. “They said that Xiu- his servant – or rather his friend found a young boy who had just died. He had been a poor boy, killed for stealing when he was just trying to survive.” He glanced at Yifan, who was still sporting a frown.

“Go on.”

“He then used magic to mend his body so that he could use it for his purpose.”

“Couldn’t he revive him? Or he didn’t want to?...”

“He couldn’t. What he was planning was something, but bringing someone back to life is too much for anyone. People are still trying to do that, but they fail every time. I think… we’re not supposed to be able to go that far.”

“Perhaps you’re right…” Yixing looked back at his friend when hearing the sadness laced words. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone that deep into details.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered, but Yifan shook his head.

“Don’t be. Just because I miss mom it doesn’t mean I was so delusional to think someone could bring her back. Go on with the story.”

“Alright… Clow, as I said, tried to use that spell. I studied it and I know it’s fairly complicated and a lot of magical power is necessary for something like that. In theory. Because it didn’t work. Now I don’t know if Clow expected it to actually work, but if what they say about him in books, that he was wise and intelligent… he probably expected failure.”

“If he was so wise then why did he try to do it then? I don’t think it turned out well, did it?”

“No… Well, it depends how you look at it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The prince quirked an eyebrow and the other boy sighed.

“The spell is hard to master and requires a great control and power, I said that already. Clow was the best wizard in the country, and maybe even in the world for all we know, so naturally, he had that power. He had too much power. So much that some people believed and continue to believe that he was a god. But that’s insane. This world is crazy, but I think that to see him as a god is even more so.” He looked at Yifan, who was listening intently. “I’m sorry for the rambling… The point is he couldn’t control all that power, with all his intelligence and wisdom. It easily got out of control and it messed up this world, and, who knows, maybe others too.” He didn’t tear his gaze away from Yifan this time around. “It messed up the flow of time and it made things that sound impossible come true. His plan sounded impossible in the first place, or at least that’s what I believe now, after a few hundred years.

“Twenty years ago, a child died. Of course, his soul was supposed to go to the other world, or Heaven, how some of us call it. But Clow’s magic was so unbelievably great that it caused the poor soul to lose its way in space and time and it trapped it in this world, in the body of that boy who died.”

*

The first thing Kyungsoo heard before opening his eyes was a strange sound he was pretty sure he had never heard before, a muffled bustle and distant voices that didn't belong to any of the other travelers. There was a weight on his stomach, which made him lift his eyelids. The sight of Mokona surprised him, but he didn't startle, only looking back at the creature standing on his belly. He slowly got up, looking at the others who were already standing, besides Jongin, who was squatted next to him.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah..." Mokona hopped off him, letting him get up as well, helped by the boy, even though he didn't consider he needed any help, despite still feeling a little weak. He looked around, finding himself in a dark alleyway, or at least he supposed it was something like that, between two tall buildings. Looking up at the seemingly never-ending construction he couldn't help but think that he had never seen such tall buildings besides the castle he lived in, which was much more imposing, of course, from the slivers of memories he had retained. These buildings were dull and unsightly. He focused his gaze on the white sky for a bit, sighing.

"Prince..."

"Please call me Kyungsoo." he looked back at Jongin. Being called prince made him feel out of his place, since he didn't feel like one, he barely even knew how he felt exactly.

"A-Alright... Can you feel something?"

“I think so… But I’m not sure where it’s coming from…”

“Mokona knows!” Mokona looked at him, silently telling him to pick him up, and Kyungsoo did, holding him as he showed them a direction.

After only a few steps, they came across more buildings and strange moving things which Kyungsoo could associate with carriages and horses because they, too, were transporting people. Only these strange things, while they had wheels, they were faster, louder and more menacing.

“wow… these things are interesting. What are they? They seem convenient.” Tao commented, inspecting one of the cars parked nearby, black and sleek. Kyungsoo noticed that they came in all shapes and colors.

“Cars!” Mokona responded. “This world looks similar to the one I live in with Xiumin. It feels like home.” the creature let out a satisfied sigh.

Cars weren’t the only ones catching their attention though, even though Tao’s eyes were glued to the vehicles passing by them.

Although Chen didn’t seem to mind, Kyungsoo and Jongin were aware of the eyes that were on them, naturally, because they didn’t fit in, with strange clothes, a talking animal, tired and confused.

“I think we need to find a place to rest.” The wizard suggested. He wasn’t sure how much time it had been since they last slept, because of their journey, but nonetheless, traveling between Universes _was_ tiring.

 

Kyungsoo closed his eyes for a moment, struggling to ignore the unwanted attention and focus on what he had to focus.

“I know where it is.” He said as he started walking, panic manifesting itself differently on each of his companions’ face as Mokona shrieked.

“Kyungsoo, stop!” The boy was startled as Jongin wrapped his arms around his waist as he stopped him from possibly walking in front of a car. The prince was scared for a moment before the feeling was replaced by embarrassment at his own foolishness.

“I’m sorry…” he muttered, almost sure that no one besides Mokona heard him.

“It’s okay, just be more careful.” Jongin told him, and the shorter showed a soft smile in response to being heard and not ignored. “But how are we supposed to get to the other side with all these… things passing by?”

“We have to wait!” Mokona spoke and pointed towards a crosswalk, signaling for them to head towards there. “When the light becomes green then we can pass. These are the rules in my world, so it might be the same here.”

Kyungsoo looked in wonder at the black, tall pole on the other side of the road, wondering what kind of magic people here used to create such a thing, that could apparently change colors. Was it fire colored differently or was it something else? He looked around at the others. Amongst all them, only Jongin seemed intrigued right now, possibly thinking similarly.

“Hey, do you think there’s a place here where I can buy a sword?” Tao spoke, eyes inspecting the buildings around them.

“Hmm… I don’t know... “ Mokona replied, and Tao returned to his sullen silence.

When the green humanoid lit up, they crossed the street cautiously, especially Kyungsoo, who hesitated despite the cars having stopped to let them pass. Jongin walked right beside him, making sure he was alright.

“Lead us, prince.” Chen spoke, and Kyungsoo nodded, taking the lead, glancing at the brown-haired boy, who was still by his side. Reassured, he continued walking towards where his instinct guided him. After taking several turns, they eventually stopped in front of a building, not too different from the buildings they had first laid eyes upon when arriving in this world.

“I… think it’s here.” Mokona confirmed that he, too, felt the presence inside this building, so they just followed in after the man that had just entered, managing to stop the door before it got to close. Kyungsoo’s steps led them right in the man’s wake.

The stranger went down a staircase. Kyungsoo hesitated to follow him into the ominous darkness, but encouraged by Jongin and urged by Mokona, he stepped forward, noticing a patch of light melting into black as the man closed the door behind him.

“Should we knock?” He looked at the other boy unsurely, receiving a nod. So he did, only after several seconds. The same man opened the door, blank look on his face as he inspected them from head to toe, probably ready to shut the door close once again. Kyungsoo and the stranger looked at one another for a few moments without uttering a thing. The prince knew that he had to break the silence, to let him know why they were there, but he had to spend some time to gather his thoughts and model them into words that wouldn’t cause the man to dismiss them, thinking they were crazy.

Emotion suddenly erupted on his expression when the stranger looked at each one of his fellow travelers. Surprise more exactly with hints of amusement. His eyes stopped on the wizard.

“What are you doing, Jongdae? Found a new hobby? Cosplaying?” He chuckled. Chen’s face went pale as everyone focused their attention on him. He apparently had no response and, while the others looked confused, he was more than that. He was stunned, thing which was something new, despite the fact that Kyungsoo knew him for barely a few days. In his eyes, Chen was a peculiar man with plenty of knowledge and abilities. That was the feeling he had about him, and these days, Kyungsoo didn’t have much besides feelings to rely upon, with his memories robbed from him. So now, seeing him speechless like that was unsettling.

“What’s wrong?” The stranger spoke again. “Jongdae, why don’t you introduce me to your friends?” He seemed genuinely concerned and curious.

“How do you know my-...” Kyungsoo barely heard Chen’s mutter, which was quickly overlooked when Mokona interrupted him.

“He’s not your Jongdae. He’s not your friend even if he might look like him.” He addressed the stranger, whose eyes widened as he looked at the small creature in the prince’s arms, probably having believed that it was a stuffed animal until then.

“What?...”

“Kyungsoo, will you tell him?” Mokona whispered and glanced up at him.

“Y-Yes.” He cleared his voice, as if wanting to make sure that his message would be well understood by the other. “My friend here, Chen- I mean… W-We’re not from this world. We came searching for something here and I think that thing is here right now. Only if you could… let us in for a moment?”

“What are you talking about?...”

“It’s true.” the wizard spoke. “I’m not the Jongdae you know. I’m not sure how this is possible either, but please let us in. We… my friends are very tired.” Chen seemed to have gotten past the shock of whatever had caused it in the first place, but Kyungsoo couldn’t help but still be worried and also curious, very curious. Although he supposed he should first get to know himself like any other person did before delving into another’s mystery.

The stranger frowned, obviously not believing what he had heard.

“Do you… not know my name?” he asked him.

“No.”

“...Come in.” he finally said, stepping away to let them step inside. Chen did so first with no hesitation.

It was not a pleasant home that greeted them, far from it because it was not even a home. It looked rather like a room where the stranger conducted experiments, Kyungsoo believed. He wondered if he used magic. From the figments of memories he had, he knew that only a few people were able to use magic, and those were the wisest of them. He also knew that it wasn’t easy, and something about this person and this place made him think that he indeed handled magic. But he didn’t think it was the right time to ask about it.

He looked around, forgetting for several moments that there was a reason for which he was there. A worn out sofa was there, set next to tables on which phials were ordered on, phials with different potions it seemed, each labelled differently, in a sloppy handwriting he couldn’t understand. They were pretty much everywhere in the room.

In one side of the room laid a broken tube, large enough to fit a human. The boy shook his head at the thought. Why did he imagine such a thing? But what else could it have been for? Again, he didn’t dare ask.

“You… seem different from Jongdae… But your story is crazy.” the man chuckled. “Are you sure you’re not his twin brother or something?”

“No!” Everyone looked at the wizard, startled by the urgency of his response. He bit his lower lip, quickly averting his gaze from the man, looking at the floor. “No, we’re not.” He repeated softly.

“Alright… I’m sorry, but you really look so similar... “

“What’s your name, mister?” Jongin asked, speaking for the first time in a while.

“Junmyeon. I’m Junmyeon. What are your names?” A hesitant smile flashed on his features as he was probably still confused or unbelieving, Kyungsoo thought, which was understandable. He wouldn’t have believed a bunch of strangers telling him they were traveling through dimensions if it wasn’t he himself doing it.

“I’m Jongin and this is Kyungsoo.” he glanced at the shorter boy.

“I’m Chen.” he stated quietly, but despite his apparent calm, his voice quivered a bit.

Junmyeon’s gaze lingered more on him, before he looked at the tallest of them all, who didn’t seem to be willing to communicate with him.

“That’s TaoTao.” Mokona spoke, and the man focused his attention on the tiny creature.

“Is this… Is this a robot?” he inspected Mokona closely. “It seems so… real. Who made this?”

“C-Clow made Mokona… Mokona is not a robot.” he turned around, burying his face in Kyungsoo’s shirt.

“We are searching for a feather.” the wizard spoke. “You have it, don’t you?” Junmyeon blinked, focusing his attention on him again.

“How did you know?”

“We- I need it. Can you please give it to us?” Kyungsoo interfered.

“Why should I trust you?”

“It’s very important to me. Please.” Junmyeon tore his gaze away from the pleading eyes.

“At least allow us to rest here for a bit.” Jongin spoke, not fazed at all by the man’s refusal. None of them could literally remember when they had slept last.

When Junmyeon parted his lips, Tao stepped towards him before he got to voice his thoughts, piercing eyes on him.

“Listen here, I might not have my sword right now, but I can kill you with my bare hands. And I will do just that if you don’t give us what we’re looking for.” The smaller man took a few steps back and Tao advanced at the same time before Jongin grabbed his arm, almost being shoved in the process.

“Tao, please… Don’t scare him.”

“Scare him?” he raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “Do you think I wasn’t talking seriously, kid? I’m not kidding.” he turned to look at Junmyeon again, who was frozen in place.

“But why kill him?”

“Do you not want your little prince to get his memories back?” his tone was genuinely incredulous. “Why would you _not_ kill someone who stands in your way.”

“No…”

“You can’t just take someone’s life like that…” Kyungsoo spoke, grabbing his other arm. “Is it that easy to you?”

“Yes.” he responded as if it was the most natural thing in the world, as if thinking like Jongin and Kyungsoo was wrong. The latter’s eyebrows furrowed. “Isn’t it easy? Isn’t it, Chen?”

The wizard took a while before responding with a quiet “No.” A bitter smirk lifted the corner of Tao’s lips.

“Fine. Then solve your matters however you want, making friends with everybody. I’m sure that could work. I’m out of here.” He threw one last ice cold glance in Junmyeon’s direction, who watched the whole scene, ready to call the Police any second then. He didn’t though, because he felt that he shouldn’t.

Tao left without any other word.

 

Mokona sprung from Kyungsoo’s arms directly onto Junmyeon’s shoulder.

“Please, don’t be scared.” the tiny voice contrasted so much with Tao’s authoritative tone from just seconds ago. “We really don’t want to hurt you. Kyungsoo just needs his memories.”

“Memories?”

“The feather.”

“You know, I can’t really trust you.” Mokona sighed.

“What use could you possibly have for it?” Jongin asked.

“I’m studying it. It suddenly appeared and… I had no idea what it is. I still don’t know.”

“If you find out… will you give it to us?” Kyungsoo spoke.

“It depends. What if it has a destructive power? Besides, will you still be around when I’m done finding out? _If_ I find out, that is.”

“For now… Let us just stay here for a bit. Or at your home, since I suppose you wouldn’t want us to interfere with your things here.” Chen said, seeming to have come to his senses. Kyungsoo was far from cunning, but he realized that the wizard was trying to use his resemblance to Junmyeon’s friend to his advantage.

“My place is small though. You’ll have to sleep on the floor.” He responded after a couple of moments of thought.

“That will be fine, thank you so much!” Kyungsoo spoke, genuinely thankful and surprised by the other’s decision to let them in.

“But only the three- four of you. I won’t let that man in here.”

 

Tao roamed the streets around the building where the others were, ignoring people’s stares and not caring if he were to get lost. He was furious, his hands were clenched into fists as he tried to control himself. He just couldn’t understand them and he felt the need to move, to do something, to _fight_. He always felt better after fighting and right now there was nothing he wished for more than to feel that exhilaration surge through his body freely.

But he couldn’t. He shouldn’t. Not when there was no one there worth fighting or deserving it. Despite his urges, his targets were never random. He could hear the princess’ voice already, disappointed in him. Her, too, was as hard to comprehend as his companions.

Companions… why were they even his companions? What was he doing here? It was not his place to be. He was supposed to be home, serving Victoria, but for some reason, she had decided to send him on this pointless journey, with a bunch of fools.

After calming down a bit, he realized he had no choice. If he wanted to return home, he had to stick with them. That meant no ‘unnecessary’ killing, by their standards probably. But Tao never killed or hurt unnecessarily. It was all for a reason.

He groaned, leaning his back against a building, next to the window of a shop. He closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind, unable to see the people exiting the building and scurrying by him, others staring, others taking pictures. He paid them no heed.

“Why in the world did you send me here?” he muttered, not hoping to receive any answer.

 

It took Kyungsoo less than a minute to fall sleep, curled up under a blanket on the floor of Junmyeon’s living room, with Mokona nestled in his arms. Chen was next to him, back turned towards him while Jongin was still awake.

“Why are you not sleeping?” Junmyeon’s whisper startled him and attracted his gaze away from Kyungsoo. “You look tired… It’s pretty much the only thing I believed from what you guys said, besides that death threat I received.”

“Because I don’t feel safe… And I don’t want all of us to be asleep at the same time. Besides that, I’m worried.” He looked down at his fidgeting fingers.

”How should _I_ feel then?” Junmyeon stood there, inspecting him in silence for several minutes as Jongin did nothing, aware of the man’s eyes on him. He didn’t know what to say when he knew he definitely considered them to be insane or evil. But then Junmyeon spoke again, making him raise his head and look at him. “Tell me more about this story then. I’m curious to what extents you could go… if this is not real.”

The boy looked at the carpet for several seconds, pondering his decision. Maybe if he spoke he could make Junmyeon realize it was all real, or maybe he made up that excuse so that he could just talk to someone. Nevertheless, in a hushed voice, he started talking. He started with the beginning of this journey, telling the man where they came from, while occasionally glancing over at Kyungsoo and Chen to check if they were still sleeping. It didn’t seem the former would wake up any soon. Fatigue obviously took a toll on him. As for the other, he couldn’t tell, since he faced the other side. Although his main concern was focused on Kyungsoo, Jongin couldn’t help but be worried - and curious - about Chen and Tao. The way the wizard had reacted earlier was out of the ordinary, but the boy didn’t want to get caught up in thoughts that he didn’t need. He only needed to worry about Kyungsoo.

He continued speaking. It was far from a long story, but the words came naturally to him, and Junmyeon paid attention to everything, surely searching for something to conclude that it was all a big, fat lie. He didn’t find anything, or if he did, he didn’t say it. The boy couldn’t help but notice how the other kept glancing over at Chen’s figure.

“I know that guy is not my friend for sure now… I called Jongdae a few minutes ago.”

“So you know he doesn’t have any twin brother, right?”

“Yeah… But I still don’t trust you.”

And so he left the room.

They spent the night there, and the next morning Junmyeon walked inside the room, a mixed look of concern and fear was on his face.

“Your friend returned.” he declared sternly, expecting them to do something.

“Where is he?” Chen inquired. “And I’m afraid he wouldn’t be quite pleased to hear you call him our friend.”

“I think he wouldn’t be too pleased with hearing me in general. He’s in front of the lab. Convince him not to kill me at least.” Chen nodded before stepping out, leaving behind a nervous Junmyeon, who just hoped they wouldn’t break inside the lab.

Kyungsoo, Jongin and Mokona watched the dialogue in silence, opting to remain there.

“I’m sorry for our companion…” Jongin muttered. “If he _is_ still that I mean…”

“Are you sure you don’t know each other at all? Why would you travel together then?” The man squinted his eyes, crossing his arms before his chest while glancing through the hallway, at the entrance door. He seemed to be ready for another encounter with Tao.

“Yes, we didn’t know each other before this. Maybe… Mokona can tell us why we have to travel together… I’d really like to know too.” Everyone’s eyes were on the little creature now, who sank into Kyungsoo’s arms, wary of Junmyeon’s attention.

“There is just one traveling Mokona and four of you… That would be one of the reasons.”

“One of them? What about the others?” Jongin quirked an eyebrow.

“Hmm. I’m not sure.”

Junmyeon sighed, turning his attention to Chen and Tao. The latter didn’t seem to be willing to listen to anyone, like he’d always been since they have met, while Chen looked worryingly carefree.

“Perhaps he’s too confident...” Kyungsoo muttered. “Chen I mean.” He clarified, feeling the others’ eyes on him for a bit.

“If you want me not to kill him he should give us the feather so we can leave.” Junmyeon tensed up even more when he saw Tao throwing a glare in his direction. He himself wasn’t confident, and it was quite obvious to him that the other man’s words didn’t work on Tao.

“I guess...” he sighed. “I have no choice.” He commented, expression mirroring how troubled he felt about the whole situation. That feather was something he had never seen and he would have given a lot to be able to study it, but not to risk his life for. He didn’t comment on that, sure that these people wouldn’t care. “I’ll give it back to you, Kyungsoo-ssi.”

“Really?” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened, but then realized that it wasn’t something that should come as a surprise, his life was in danger after all, or at least he thought it was. He hoped it wasn’t. “I’m sorry.” He said quietly.

“It’s not your fault.” Junmyeon responded in kind.

 

Kyungsoo knew there was supposed to be someone next to him, seated at the table, someone other than his family, whom he seemed to remember perfectly now. He could feel the warmth in the room, he could see every feature on his brother’s, his father’s and Yixing’s face clearly, he could smell the cake on his plate and hear how silver clinked when it met the china, and Yifan’s every teasing word. But when he looked to his left, he could see a person. No, he didn’t see them, but he knew somewhere there, there was a body, moving and maybe talking, but Kyungsoo couldn’t see the person.

*

“Then Clow just died?”

“Yes.”

Yifan blinked, struggling to process the story he had just heard. It didn’t make sense to him and even if it was Yixing who just told him all that, he felt like he couldn’t believe it.

“And what does that have to do with you?” Yixing sighed.

“Let me continue…” the younger looked down before opening his mouth again. “Clow died and that boy didn’t wake up. Not for a few hundred years at least…” A heavy silence followed before the boy found the courage to utter, voice trembling, “That boy was Jongin, Yifan.”

“What?...” His eyes widened as he stared at Yixing, clearly waiting for some kind of explanation. “How can that be? How do you know for sure?!” The prince shook his head incredulously, fingers wrapping tightly around Yixing’s forearm to make the boy look at him. All he obtained was a wince.

“It’s true because your father found him. And I… I woke him up.” Yixing gulped, not daring to look the other in the eye, guilt creeping inside him and threatening to swallow him, even if the prince still wasn’t aware of it and of the reason that could happen. The fair-haired boy waited for a continuation. “Your father and Jongin’s father found him somewhere under the ruins. Someone hid him in hope someone would find him most probably. I’m not sure about that, but they found him when His Majesty was still just a prince.” Yixing’s voice was trembling and Yifan, seeing that, weakened his grip, slipping his hand down to the mage’s in a comforting manner. The brunet jolted, because he didn’t deserve it.

“I managed to wake him up eight years ago, with a spell. It was a little after I had become a proper mage. Well, that’s what people say…” he muttered the last part, still believing that he had a long way to go. “I was a little surprised that people didn’t think anything strange about it when Jongin barely seemed to get any older.”

“I… It’s true now that you mention it… Why though?”

“Jongin’s soul shouldn’t be in this world anymore. He should have died a long time ago. But now it’s too late, he can’t go to the other world, they won’t let him in anymore.”

“That means… basically he can’t be anywhere, right?” his hand unconsciously tightened around Yixing’s, his tension clear.

“No. He shouldn’t be here, but he can’t die just because of what I’ve told you. He _shouldn’t_ die. If he does… his soul will just remain here, trapper, without a body.” The boy frowned. “And I don’t think that’s unlikely to happen…” he whispered, pulling his hand from the grip. “And that’s my fault.”

“Because you woke him up? Don’t be stupid.” Yifan scoffed. “You didn’t do anything wrong. But why do I find out about this only now?” Yixing stiffened. Yifan didn’t understand just yet and his words only caused another surge of anxiety travel throughout his body.

“No, not because of that.” He blinked, trying to will away the tears that threatened to drop. “What I wanted to do was… was to erase his existence… from our memories… from this world’s memories. B-Because it’s just not right.” He could feel the prince’s stare piercing through his soul, despite not looking him in the eye. He was angry. “I just tried to make things right, but I failed, I’m sorry…”

“You… Y-You erased Kyungsoo’s memories…” Yifan’s voice was trembling as well now. “Is that what you did?” Yixing nodded wordlessly, mouthing a silent ‘I’m sorry’.

*

He woke up from darkness to the night surrounding them and to Jongin’s warmth while he was holding him, and although confused, he felt grateful. For the first few seconds he couldn’t be sure what was going on and why he was there, just looking back into this boy’s eyes, a stranger feeling brewing in his chest. It was that thing that you felt when you forgot something you shouldn’t have, but have no idea what it was. What was it that he forgot? Obviously, he forgot a lot, and he knew he had to be patient to regain his memories, because they would eventually come back. But there was something... something that was nagging him, something he wanted to remember as soon as possible. It happened when he looked at Jongin, but then maybe it would have happened even if he looked around him. Yes, it was that empty space in his memory which was bothering him. That was all.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah. You can put me down.”

Looking around, they noticed how this world didn’t seem too different from the previous one they visited. The same style of buildings reaching out for the sky seemed suffocating, and the quiet of the night only added another layer of uneasiness. He held onto Jongin’s hand, not without glancing at Jongin’s expression. It was unreadable, but his fingers encircled his own and his hand was warm. It made him feel a little safer.

“What’s that?” It only lasted a moment though. Kyungsoo didn’t have the time to dodge what had come his way, and he found himself on the ground, with someone weighing over him. He could hear Jongin calling for him in the background, and whispered words right next to his ear.

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god...” The weight was quickly lifted off him, and as he calmed down, he sat up, taking in the picture in front of him. Tao was holding onto someone’s shirt, preventing him from running away. The one who had collided with him was just a boy, probably merely 16 or 17 years old, frozen on the spot and looking back and forth between them.

“I’m sorry, I... I didn’t expect you to be in the middle of the road...” Helped by Jongin, Kyungsoo quickly got up, inspecting the kid from head to toe intently. Unfortunately, the next moment he was gone, as quick as a sudden gust of wind, leaving Tao behind, wide-eyed and angry. He left as he had come, which was more of a reason for the man’s reaction than the actual impact with Kyungsoo. The boy didn’t walk, he glided through the air, too fast for them to be able to catch.

Before they had the chance to wonder if this was normal in this world, Kyungsoo spoke.

“He has the feather...”

 

Jungkook was sure that this wasn’t normal. Those people showing up in the middle of the street before dawn... He could tell if only just by their strange clothes. It had something to do with the feather he found last week, while coming back from school, if that was a feather at all. Jungkook didn’t think much of it at first. Spotting it there, on the street, it looked peculiar. It didn’t seem to fit the city. The strange, elegant red pattern didn’t seem to be a contraption of nature, rather something man-made. Still, he didn’t think much of it and just picked it up. It felt strangely warm, but the surprise came only after he tucked it into his pocket. One moment, the boy was just gliding on the pavement, taking his familiar road home, but after several seconds he was effortlessly going faster and faster. He yelped when he couldn’t feel the ground under his feet anymore and saw the surroundings lowering more and more. He looked down, trying to convince himself that there was something wrong with his rollerblades. There was more than that, but he couldn’t tell if there was indeed something wrong or if that was a good thing. He only glanced at the soft glow now emanated by them and at the – _What the hell...? –_ faint, translucent body of wings attached to his rollerblades.

Then he looked forward as he caught speed and altitude, mouth agape and eyes wide open. He moved his legs automatically, as if he was rolling like always, discovering that he quite liked this feeling. The part of the neighborhood where he was now was devoid of any people – at least it seemed so and at least he hoped so – and Jungkook grinned as he flew above the streets through the chill of the evening.

Adrenaline still filled his body when he reached home, hair disheveled and a trace of that grin still on his face, the view strange enough to make his mother raise an eyebrow and asked what happened. He can’t remember what lied he came up with, all he could think about was what had just happened. After barely eating something for dinner, he hurried back into his room, inspecting the strange item and his rollerblades. He was intrigued, but more than that, he was excited. That night was the first time he had sneaked out, fortunately agile enough to get out through the window of his room unseen and unscathed, this time not with the use of tightly tied together bedsheets, but with a feather-like item and his rollerblades.

 

They were left with no choice but to search for the boy, following Kyungsoo and Mokona’s guidance. The latter was nestled in the prince’s arms, almost dozing off, because luckily, they were just walking, to Tao’s dismay.

“Don’t you think we should hurry a bit?” Evidently irritated, he folded his arms in front of his chest. “You saw how fast that kid was!”

“Calm down, we’ll find him.” Chen’s comment only irked him even more.

“How can you be so sure? Can your magic see the future?”

“I wish it could.” A short chuckle escaped him before his eyes turned serious. “He’s just a kid, as you said, we’ll find him.”

Kyungsoo and Jongin were walking in front of the two of them, and the former didn’t turn around when he spoke, voice almost a whisper, slightly trembling.

“Tao...” Taken aback by hearing his name from the boy’s mouth, he raised his eyebrows, gaze on the back of his head, until Kyungsoo finally turned a bit to look at him. “What is it?”

“Please don’t hurt him when we find him, ok?” he said, louder this time, but Chen and Tao could see the fear in his brown, gentle eyes and the worry they held. To Tao, they seemed familiar, not because he had seen them before, but because they reminded him of someone. Yes, he was looking at him the same way princess Victoria did back in his world. “Please...” he repeated, seeing that he didn’t utter a word.

“I won’t.” he said, shifting his eyes away from him, hearing a small ‘thank you’.

“What do you think would have happened if you killed Junmyeon?” Chen spoke only after making sure Jongin, Kyungsoo and Mokona were at a considerable distance in front of then, unable to hear their words. The man looked stern, not relaxed like he usually seemed, but Tao was somehow not surprised. It was quite obvious to him that there was more to his strange wizard companion than he let be seen.

“He wouldn’t have made a fuss and we would have been gone much quicker.”

“Having killed a man for nothing.” The taller kept silent. “I guess it doesn’t really matter to you.” Chen sighed. “But what about those two kids?”

“What about them? Their opinion doesn’t concern me. And neither does yours. Especially yours.”

“Did you see the fear in Kyungsoo just now?”

“That man had nothing to do with him. So what if he died? He wouldn’t have suffered.”

“So you do care about our prince’s feelings.” A victorious smile flashed across the wizard’s expression, and Tao pretended not to see it. He admitted to himself that he was right, he did care, even if a tiny bit, about those two boys. He could see the innocence in their eyes, the purity in their gestures. They just wanted to live their youth, nor hurting anyone, a pretty strange concept for him, but he could see it.

“That’s the first step.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Tao retorted.

“Try to think more before you do something.” Chen smiled, and he could tell that it was fake. And so the conversation ended.

 

They walked for twenty minutes or so, the sun having begun to rise and color the sky in a lighter shade. Kyungsoo and Jongin stopped in front of a certain house, both the prince and Mokona inspecting it. Nothing abnormal. A few moments later, the other two approached them.

“He’s here? Then what are we waiting for?” Tao headed towards the door, and the others anticipated loud banging and possibly shattering of it, but Chen pulled him back by the arm.

“We can solve this like normal people.” The taller raised an eyebrow at his response, pulling himself away from him and continuing on his way, shifting his eyes away from the wizard.

“Are you insinuating I am not a normal person?” Unexpectedly calm, he knocked on the door. Loud, but not as much as they thought it would be. They stepped behind him, patiently waiting. “Do you really expect him to op-?” Their attention flew to the opening door, where a woman was now standing, surprised, but the emotion was not strong enough to be called shock or anything similar.

“Oh, you’re Jungkook’s friend, I presume. What brings you here so early in the morning?” The woman’s hair was disheveled and her eyes were still a little heavy with sleep, and she was obviously not expecting guests at this hour of the day.

“Yes, we’re his friends. Could we see him for a second?” Kyungsoo responded, not an ounce of hesitance in his voice and with a friendly smile upon his face, which was rapidly reciprocated by Jungkook’s mother.

“Sure, sure, come in.” She stepped aside quickly, her motions lively, despite her previous state. “I heard Jungkook moving around in his room, so he’s not asleep. I’m gonna go get him, you should stay for breakfast! Come!” She motioned for them to follow her towards the kitchen. Kyungsoo did so, again, with no restraint, immediately followed by Jongin, Chen and Tao. “Take a seat, take a seat!”

The woman hurried upstairs, while her guests remained there, staring at one another. While worry was painted on Jongin’s face, Kyungsoo was smiling, and it made his heart feel easier.

“All my friends probably fell asleep an hour ago.” They heard someone whine in the distance, obviously Jungkook. Even so, he climbed down the stairs. He was tired and confused when he reached the kitchen, judging by his expression, and when he saw who his “friends” were, he gasped and took a step backwards, his first reflex being to run away.  He bumped into his mother, who pushed him forward, frowning at her son’s unusual behavior.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing, mom.” He sat down as well, in the crumped space. The room wasn’t designed for so many people, but no one seemed to mind, except him of course. For some reason, he went along with this pretense, so Kyungsoo was right not to worry, even though it may have been just a foolish guess. The kid could have easily told his mom the four weirdly dressed people were strangers.

“I’d ask what’s with the outfits, but I don’t think I want to know... Want do you want for breakfast?” She quickly brushed off the subject of their clothes, her short, chubby self scurrying through the kitchen towards the fridge.

“Um... cereal.” The boy responded, looking warily at them while his mom’s back was turned towards him.

“We as well, thank you!” Chen chirped, earning an even funnier look from Jungkook, to which he only responded with a smile.

“Alright!”

“They’re doing a play, mom. Don’t think too much about it.” His eyes rested on the creature still in Kyungsoo’s arm, eyes widening considerably when he waved at him, smiling. He didn’t know if it was really a smile, or if it just resembled one, the same way as he didn’t know if the expression that seemed so happy on dog’s faces were really happy.

“A play! What is it about?” Her face lit up as she looked at Kyungsoo as soon as she grabbed a milk bottle from the fridge. She didn’t seem to mind Mokona.

“Mom, it’s Sunday, you should go sleep a little longer, I’ll take care of them.” Jungkook attempted a smile, which ended up looking pretty genuine, although the externalize concern for someone other than himself seemed unnatural.

“It’s about a prince.” Spoke Jongin now, a smile now having the courage to decorate his face. “He lost his memories and he’s now searching for them across the worlds with his companions. They were scattered in the form of feathers.” As he said this, he stared at Jungkook, who blinked in confusion, as he also allowed the realization to come over him.

“Sounds interesting. What happens next?” After putting the milk on the stove to heat it, she sat down next to her son, with interest sparkling in her eyes as she waited to hear more.

“The wizard who sent them on the journey told them the prince would... die if he doesn’t get back all his memories.” The words were hard to voice this time, but Jongin forced himself to believe that they would be victorious in the end. Glancing at Jungkook, he could see him stare absentmindedly at the tablecloth, possibly processing the story he was hearing. “So it was very important to find the feathers. Of course, it’s not easy. Some people want to keep them for themselves.” Jungkook frowned lightly. “But others are kind and they understand the importance of this quest.”

The woman asked no further, and they soon started their breakfast. All of them except Chen tried to hide their surprise in front of the novelty that was breakfast cereal.

“Who’s the prince?” Jungkook asked as soon as he finished his meal, quicker than everyone else.  

“Me.” The words had barely left Kyungsoo’s mouth when the boy grabbed his wrist – they had been sitting next to each other – and dragged him upstairs. Jongin’s normal response would be to follow them, not letting Kyungsoo out of his eyes, but he knew that the boy meant no harm.

“I didn’t know! I’m sorry.” Jungkook told him as soon as he closed the door. The feather was on his desk, glowing softly in response to Kyungsoo’s presence. “Take it back.”

“It’s ok. Thank you for understanding.”

“I... can’t say I really understand. But I believe you.”

*

Yifan didn't spare him a glance, only rising from his seat and heading out of the room, hiding his teary gaze from Yixing. All sorts of feelings were bubbling up in his heart, confusing him and causing him not to be able to hold back his tears any longer. He didn't feel betrayed, but he was mad at Yixing and, at the same time, he felt compassion deep down in his being for the mage. He blamed him, but he was aware that it was a mistake.

It didn't last much until the feelings settled down on the bottom of his heart, allowing Yifan's sensibleness to filter them. The anger washed off and that which remained pregnant, causing his head to hurt was the concern. For Yixing in a small part, but mostly for his little brother.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

Kyungsoo was silently watching Jongin’s movements in the dark from inside the cottage they had found at the edge of a forest. Abandoned one, luckily. The boy was worried because Jongin had barely rested lately, focusing almost all of his energy on training with Tao. The older agreed when Jongin asked him to teach him how to fight, in order to protect Kyungsoo, fact which stirred plenty of thoughts in the latter’s mind. Why did he want to protect him so much? How did they know each other? Why couldn’t he remember anything about Jongin? What did Jongin have to pay to the wizard? What did _he_ have to pay? Almost sure his questions would go unanswered like the previous times he had tried to find answers, Kyungsoo still tried again, asked him again.

“I can’t just let you get hurt.” He said. “I was a friend of your brother’s. We probably didn’t see each other more than several times before.” Obvious lie. “Maybe... Maybe you’ll remember that person, you just have to wait a bit more. I don’t know who they might be.” Jongin had avoided looking him in the eye, excusing himself and grabbing the stick he used for training and returning to his business. Kyungsoo wanted to cling to him and to make him answer him truthfully, but instead he decided he should do something more useful for now. So he joined Tao and Jongin. Being a burden was the last thing he wanted. He was weak, short and clumsy, unlike Jongin, who as agile and a quick-learner. But trying was better than nothing. Although his friend looked at him reluctantly, intending not to let him train at first, he gave in without a word. Tao, though, apparently had nothing against Kyungsoo joining them.

He occasionally got lost in thought and caught himself staring at Jongin focusing and listening attentively to everything Tao had to say, the prince himself reprimanded for slacking off, but the tone in which Tao spoke to him wasn’t a harsh one. They had all seen him being harsh before. But towards them, he wasn’t, although maybe to an outsider he would seem so.

Jongin and Kyungsoo both admired his skills, how he effortlessly and flawlessly performed every move, how calm he seemed while explaining to them where to blow to render a person unable to move, or even to kill if necessary. He seemed different from before.

But right now, Jongin and Tao were alone, Chen having dragged Kyungsoo with him and Mokona in search for food. They were now inside together, waiting. He had nothing to do but to think, something he tended to do more and more lately as his memories piled one upon each other, forming an almost complete image of what the world was to Kyungsoo before. Even so, Kyungsoo didn’t feel quite the same. Maybe because pieces were missing and he felt that they were forever lost, but he couldn’t be sure of anything.

But thinking about all these things couldn’t do anything to make everything better, so he averted his thought from himself or Jongin, instead thinking of their other companions. He had lost count of the worlds they had been to together, and he had grown fond of them, even of Tao, who seemed distant and cold most of the times. He had warmed up to him just a little bit during all this time and, despite everything they saw him do in the beginnings of their journey, it was clear that behind all that ice he was a good person. Maybe not kind, maybe that wasn’t the word fit to describe him, neither gentle. He was still harsh and even crude sometimes. He had been frightening too, at first, and if Kyungsoo dwelled on what he had told him, he was still afraid of him. He knew little of his past, but he did know Tao took many lives. But none since they had been together.

“What would you have done if I had killed someone in front of you?” he once asked him when they were by themselves. Kyungsoo had no clear answer to that.

“I’m not sure, but I probably wouldn’t trust you.” The other seemed surprised. In moments like those his youth showed on his face. He even appeared to be somewhat innocent.

“You trust me? Why? I did kill people before.”

“But you listened to us and didn’t take any lives since we started this journey.” Tao looked at him with a stern expression.

“Trust isn’t something you can give to someone so easily. Be more careful, prince.” Kyungsoo gave a small nod.

“I know... I know that, but I only have you four right now. A person with no memories and with just a few people... I don’t know what else I can do. I may be too weak and naive.” They stayed silent for a while until Tao sighed and talked again.

“I guess I trust you and Jongin. You’re just trying to find those feathers. That tiny bun too, all he does is his job I suppose, besides being annoying. I’m not the one for giving advice, but Chen... we don’t know anything about him, do we?”

The wizard had never truly spoken about himself, it was true, and although Kyungsoo considered him a friend, he had the feeling that there was so much hiding behind that lively smile. So much so that he was reluctant to ask. He didn’t know what kind of reaction to expect, although Chen always seemed gentle and warm towards them, especially him.

Lost in thought, mindlessly staring out the window, he jumped when Chen spoke to him.

“Are you worried about Jongin?” he came next to him, following his gaze, “Sorry, did I scare you?” He chuckled, patting Kyungsoo’s back.

“Yeah... I’m a bit worried.” He said quietly, letting out a breath as his heart calmed down, but it was obvious that other things were on his mind.

“There’s something else bothering you, isn’t it? What is it?” He grabbed his arm, pulling him and sitting down at the wooden, old table upon which two tea cups were steaming. They had found the cups there together with some silverware, but to make the tea, Chen actually had to use a small amount of magic.

“Of course there is. Plenty of things.”

“Of course. But you shouldn’t bottle it up. Talk to me, Kyungsoo.” The usual kind smile reappeared, the smile that Kyungsoo found hard not to trust. There was something in the wizard’s eyes that told him he was sincerely worried about him. He really didn’t know he tried to talk to Jongin about everything, or at least most of what was on his mind. But given no answer, he thought he had no choice. But after pondering for a bit, he decided to ask what he was most afraid to.

“Chen, where do you come from? What are you running away from?’ His companion looked a little disheartened when hearing the questions.

“So it’s about that. I wondered when someone would insist on that.” His smile slowly faded as he took a sip of his tea and gazed at the sleeping Mokona for a while, on one of the nearby chairs, covered in a blanket. Despite of the appearances, the tiny creature probably knew the most among them.

“We don’t know anything about you. And don’t get me wrong, I actually trust you.” Kyungsoo waited, palms cupping the china recipient. They were in autumn now in this world, if he could recall correctly. Back home they only had summer and winter. This one was quite charming, although cold, it wasn’t as harsh as winter, and he regretted that there was no season where he could walk through the trees and admire the warm-colored leaves. He seemed to be the only one thinking about that.

Chen didn’t say anything for a while, but the prince just waited. If he didn’t want to speak, he wasn’t going to insist.

“You know, my name isn’t actually Chen.”

*

It was snowing heavily when they reached the next world, the next Universe where who knows what mysteries awaited for them. Whatever they were, an nagging feeling nestled in Kyungsoo’s stomach. Looking around, he realized the place was oddly familiar, but obviously unrelated to his own memories, be them in his head or scattered in the Multiverse. A thick forest on one side, a barren village on the other, laid under their vision in its vast desolation. Veiled in mist, as if nature itself tried denying its presence, was a castle in the distance. It might now be what he thought it was... How many places looked like that? It wasn’t even all that different from his own home.

“No...” No one besides Kyungsoo seemed to have heard the wizard’s whisper. “No, this can’t be... We have to leave here. This... this can’t happen...” But now everyone was looking at Chen, staring at the great building, seeing more than they could. Then the boy knew that his intuition had been right. Or maybe it wasn’t intuition. Maybe it was just because Chen had told him everything just a while ago.

“This wasn’t part of the deal... No, Xiumin...” Kyungsoo watched his as his breath quickened. He had seen him scared once. Just before they left the previous world. But not like this. Chen was terrified. His widened eyes were fixated in that distant spot, his fist clenched and his whole body was trembling. “M-Mokona... why? I need to talk to him.”

“Hey, what’s wrong? What happened?” Even Tao was agitated at the sight. He grabbed his arm, evidently concerned. Jongin and Kyungsoo, too, were close to him, the former waiting for a clarification. Kyungsoo was the only one who wasn’t clueless this time.

From his arms, Mokona explained softly, “You received what you paid for. But the payment had a certain value. And it was enough to keep you away from this place for a certain period of time.” Then Jongin and Tao understood where they were.

“Can we leave? Mokona, can we leave here now? It’s just one feather, I can do without it. I don’t... I don’t need it that much, do I?”

“Kyungsoo...” Jongin looked at him in surprise and confusion. His hand touched his before his freezing fingers laced with Kyungsoo’s. He didn’t know if his decision to leave was right. He was worried for both his friends. At the touch, the other boy startled but didn’t shy away. He looked at Jongin gratefully for just a second. Mokona seemed to hesitate.

“Every memory is important, Prince...”

“But...” He looked at Chen. He seemed to be struggling to keep calm, to smile at him. But the attempted smile was just that, a poor attempt.

“Tell us what’s going on.” Tao told him. His voice was firm, but nor harsh like it usually was when he spoke to Chen. “Or the prince will tell us.” He then looked at Kyungsoo. Of course he wouldn’t. It was not his story to tell. He shook his head, apologetically looking down afterwards.

Chen took in a deep but shaky breath.

“I... I will tell you... at some point... I just can’t now. Let’s just pray... pray that the king hasn’t woken up. I’m afraid to ask, but... where’s the feather?”

“It’s... in the castle...” Kyungsoo sighed. He looked at Jongin as he retracted his hand from his in order to grab Chen’s. His friend gave him an understanding look. Kyungsoo was grateful Chen trusted him as much as to tell him about himself, and the boy wanted to stand by him. “Maybe... we can stay here and let the others go.” The wizard shook his head.

“I don’t think that will work. It’s just postponing the worst. Plus it’s dangerous. I need to be there too.” He gave a trembling sigh. “Thank you, Kyungsoo. We’re so lucky to have met you. I can’t say... the same thing about you though.”

 

As they were crossing the mostly abandoned village, Kyungsoo’s hand around his couldn’t anchor him in the present. He kept thinking about his past, which wasn’t even that distant. It felt like his present had just began with this journey. He had never felt more alive, although he kept the fear as hidden as possible, in the dark pits of his mind. It wasn’t easy. But now here he was.

A wave of sadness came onto him. He was sleepwalking on their path, guided by Kyungsoo and his instinct towards that cursed place. His mind led him to the beginning of everything. To his earliest memories. All darkness, the smell of rotten flesh and a presence of someone so close but also so far away. They had the misfortune of being born together. Chen and Jongdae were never the harbingers of misery how everyone thought. Everyone else were. But it didn’t matter.

The scars were bleeding again. His only family were a twin brother whom he couldn’t see... until he died. Him and the corpses. Seeing that she committed the horrendous act of bringing twins into this world, his mother took her own life. His father, driven man by grief, closed them up in a tower. Why? The twins never knew. The people of Valeria were simply scared of them. The thought that two beings could be carried in one womb and look the same, be born at the same time was terrifying to them, it was a result of black magic. Unnatural. He couldn’t grasp the reasoning of the people.

Back then he couldn’t be thankful that he was the one at the bottom of the tower where they were locked in, the one who had to live among corpses thrown by his father there. Now he was though. He was grateful that his brother wasn’t the one down there. But that didn’t matter, because he ended up being the only one alive. Chen. No. Jongdae. Jongdae grew up with stories about the monster that he was, about how he turned his family mad. The guard that threw him what was supposed to be food every day reminded him every time. That is until his head rolled at his feet, unable to speak anymore. He still had nightmares of how his glossy, wide open eyes were fixated on him. He could never tell which of the bodies were his.

He was saved. But it was too late for his brother. He couldn’t be sure of the exact cause for which he died, be it was an expecting outcome. The cursed image of Chen was imprinted on his mind, the first and last time he saw him. Dirty and skinny, miserable... but his expression was peaceful. He wished it was him. _What’s your name?_ King Jung asked. _Chen._ Jongdae responded. He hadn’t given it too much thought. All that was in his mind was that he wanted Chen to live. So maybe if he took his name he would live with him. Have a good time. Be taken care of. Be loved.

Jongdae believed he was.

King Jung offered him a home. The love his father never gave him. Magic. For what though, he didn’t know at first. Even after finding out, he was never mad at Jung. He was grateful for everything. But he was terribly afraid.

“Chen...” he heard a voice, but he didn’t respond to it. Somehow it didn’t seem right. Who was Kyungsoo calling to? Chen wasn’t in this world anymore. Maybe in one of the others... “Chen... Jong... Jongdae...” The name came softly from his lips, but it hit him like a cold wave. They had arrived.

The place was barren, lifeless almost. They had crossed the ditch without him realizing. It was now long dry. It seemed like no one has bothered to even lock the gates. They simply pushed them opened and enter. They moved with a loud, sharp creak. They saw no one inside as they entered. Tao and Jongin walked in front of the other three, careful and alert.

“Can you tell us at least what we should expect?” Tao asked without turning to look at him.

“Yeah... there’s someone here. Very powerful.”

They walked some more, slowly and quietly except for their steps echoing. Everything was the same, only much... sadder than Jongdae remembered. The expanse of marble which the room seemed to be constructed of was dusty, the widows, one sparkling clean were dirty and barely let the light in. Jongdae had no way of knowing now much time had passed since he left this place. He could approximate how much time it’s been for him, but not how much time had passed _here_. It looked like it had been decades.

“We should head towards his bedroom... the king’s bedroom first.” Without thinking too much, he walked past Tao and Jongin, his hand still in Kyungsoo’s, who wouldn’t let go.

The last moments spent here kept unfurling in his mind again and again since he didn’t need to do much thinking to get to where he wanted, his feet automatically leading him towards there.

The fact itself that King Jung had taken care of him was peculiar to Jongdae. Not once he had received a clear answer to his questions, never a clear reasoning for the king’s actions. He was grateful nonetheless, but more than that he was suspicious. But before that it took him years to trust him just a little and to learn to be human. He could barely speak, barely walk, barely eat, barely do anything a normal human could. In the end, after getting over all those things, he embraced the magic that Jung taught him.

During the last years with him, Jongdae learnt plenty, not only about the relatively newly acquired skills, but also about the king’s motives. He still wouldn’t tell him anything clear, but he saw how he was changing slowly, becoming colder and colder and more cruel and unforgiving to his people. There was also the hate. The self hate that had crawled its way inside the king, so much that Jongdae could see it. _I don’t want this._ He once told him, right after he had lost his temper and bloodied his hands. But no, he hadn’t simply lost his temper. It was more than that. He had been furious, wild even. He lost his _humanity_ for a few seconds there, and Jongdae was terrified. _It’s happening. The thing I feared most. The thing my family always feared most. But this time it’s good. Cause it’s the last time. I’m the last one to lose myself like this and I’ll die soon. Hopefully before becoming a complete monster. We’re so lucky that you’re not my real son, Jongdae._ Jongdae was confused, but he refused his mind’s attempt of understanding the situation. _This cursed family finally ends here..._ For a while Jongdae just listened how Jung went on and on about things he almost grasped, but was afraid to pay full attention. He predicted what was to come, because it somehow made sense. Everything was clearing up now.

The king was lying down in his bed while Jongdae was standing there. He didn’t usually step inside this room. Jung’s voice was grave and Jongdae’s heart was heavy. He felt like he was to crumble down as he realized that the sole reason for which he was saved was to destroy his savior. How could he do such a thing?

 _Listen to me, Chen. I love you.  I swore I would never have a family, never have children. So I was so lucky to have met you... I hope you felt the same way._ That was the last time he saw Jung smile. _But you must kill me._

After that, Jongdae’s memories were a flurry of actions and thoughts of which he couldn’t remember much properly. He only remembered the fear and the outcome of his spell. He couldn’t kill Jung. And it was then he had the chance, or maybe it was then when he just acted without thinking his actions through too much. The spell he casted on him put him to sleep. But Jongdae knew it wouldn’t be definitive. So he left him there, frozen in time, and so his adventure started.

 

He kept imagining what could happen now. Judging by the state of their surroundings, Jung had probably woken up. He was probably a beast now, waiting for him. He grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand tighter. He didn’t know when they reached the door to the king’s bedroom. It took him a while to muster the courage to actually open it. When he did and he looked inside, he froze. He was waiting.

Sitting on the bed, back towards him, was Jung.

“Chen...” A raspy voice whispered. Who knows when was the last time he had spoken. Regardless, when he heard his brother’s name  he knew that Jung was still at least partly human. He didn’t notice the king’s sword in a corner of the room, the furthest from its possessor. The man stood up slowly, as if he was struggling. “Finally you have come to finish your job. Please end it quickly. We do not have much time.” He turned towards them, albeit not wanting to at first. He looked tired, older, not because of the passage of time necessarily. Despite the difficulty with which he had seemed to raise from the bed, his body seemed as agile as Chen could remember, unlike his mind, which seemed to become numb as his eyes hardened and his fists clenched. The man was already fighting, only with himself.

“Please, Chen...” But before Jongdae could react, Jung sprinted towards his sword and almost at the same moment, Tao and Jongin stepped forward in front of the other three. They knew their wooden makeshift swords couldn’t compare with Jung’s.

Jongdae heard Kyungsoo gasp beside him as they both watched as their friends swords clashed with Jung’s. The person who had saved him was no more now. The wizard was petrified. Even Tao struggled to fight him, but neither him nor Jongin were willing to stop. Jongdae barely registered the fast actions unfurling before his eyes, the trickles of blood on his friends’ skin, their struggle to keep up. It was futile because they could barely touch him. He was fast and relentless.

When Jongin grunted, Jongdae didn’t react physically, but he felt the pain of being useless, of letting his friend get hurt. He could faintly register Kyungsoo mumbling Jongin’s name, probably terrified. But then Tao screamed and he knew he had to do something. Even so, his body couldn’t move. His eyes were glued to the scene, to how the blade was slowly sliding out of his abdomen, smeared with blood, more of it spurting out of the wound.

“Tao...” His voice came out as a mere whisper, even if he felt like screaming. “TAO!” But the next moment he pushed Kyungsoo away. He felt chills throughout his whole body as the magic was coursing through him, a kind of magic that he had never felt before. One moment later, the form of a sword, long and lithe, appeared in his fist, clenched around it. He could feel its energy burning his fingers as he ran towards Jung. He grabbed it with both his hands, swinging it around clumsily, weakly. Jung hurried towards him too, singing his own, material sword. Jongin was screaming from Tao’s side, but Jongdae didn’t stop. The man’s body automatically moved to block one of his attacks, but... Jongdae’s blade, instead of stopping went right through it, leaving a painful gash across his chest. Jung groaned, realizing his mistake and losing his focus. Then Jongdae continued. The man was retreating as the other was stepping forward, slashing furiously, hearing his screams, ignoring the pain of hearing his father figure scream because of him. The next thing he knew, the man’s sword fell with a clank and he was on his knees.

Jongdae was heaving. Jung fell to the ground. Dead.

But he had no time. He returned to Tao’s side. He was panting and his face was contorted in pain, but Jongin had bandaged him already, with a piece of cloth from his torn shirt. They had to help him, so they set off to the next world.

*

Kyungsoo felt his heart heavy with emotions he couldn’t remember having any time before in his life. It was the feeling of regaining something he lost, of returning home after a war, of peace. This, by no means, could be called a war, but a fight it was.

And now they were back in Clow Country.

He looked at Jongin, not surprised to see him hiding his face, unable to hide his clenched jaw as he was trying to hold back his tears. If they weren’t still supporting Tao, Kyungsoo would have embraced him. He had so much to tell Jongin. But he would wait a little more, for they still had things to do.

 

The first thing they took care of was Tao’s condition. They immediately brought a doctor to see him, who disinfected the wound. Tao took the pain without a single complaint.  The old man assured them that he would be fine, but Tao had already done that before. Of course, they didn’t necessarily believe him.

Jongdae had never left his side since they reached here, making sure everything was fine, making sure that he had everything he needed. He couldn’t forgive himself. Although he didn’t say a word about it, the others knew what he was thinking, especially Tao.

“Don’t waste yours and our time feeling guilty.” He threw Jongdae a hard glance. “I’m not mad at you and whatever you did or didn’t do... it probably had a reason, so just don’t keep us in the dark anymore. We need to know and Kyungsoo has to go see his family.”

“I’m sorry...” He looked at Kyungsoo as well. The latter shook his head, sitting next to him. “Also thank you for listening to me. And trusting me despite everything.”

“Stop being cheesy...” Tao retorted, receiving a smile.

“Thank you too. You didn’t trust me too much but you still helped. And got hurt too. Alright, I’ll tell you the story.”

 

After he was done, it was time for Kyungsoo and Jongin to return to the palace, to finally meet his family. Jongin wasn’t there when that happened. Instead, he remained alone in his room with his thoughts, which finally had the time to settle down. He thought about all the worlds they had visited, all the adventures and he thought that it all ended well. Almost unbelievable. They had done it, Kyungsoo was well and happy, almost the same as he was before. Of course such an adventure would change him, but the prince was the same person.

His own pain... that he wanted to ignore. He didn’t want to be part of the story he had faked for Kyungsoo, but he had no other choice. It wasn’t that important. They were friends again now, or so Jongin hoped, and his feelings for Kyungsoo didn’t remain unchanged, they bloomed even more. Being by his side all his time, seeing his wings spread and his smile widen, Jongin fell more in love with him. He caught himself smiling as he thought of him, but his eyes were wet.

He blinked several times when he heard a knock on the door. Without him saying a word, the door opened and although he hadn’t yet turned to see who it was, he heard steps who could belong to none other than Kyungsoo. Only after making sure that his face was decent and devoid of any unnecessary emotion, did he turn around. The prince’s smile was blinding for a mere second before it started to falter.

“I don’t even know where to begin...” he said. There was something that bothered him, surely, but Jongin didn’t ask. Instead he settled for listening, stepping closer to him, eyes following every little expression Kyungsoo’s features formed. He only ever wanted to see happiness there.

“I... I’m so grateful to you. Jongin, you... you saved my life...” Kyungsoo was stuttering, avoiding his gaze and struggling to get where he wanted to. “Thank you. But also... I need to ask you things... I think I figured some of those things out. It’s nagging me... I still can’t remember that person. Even after getting all my memories back... so I supposed it was supposed to be like this. That was the price I had to pay wasn’t it?”

“Yes... I’m sorry... I didn’t want you to be sad or frustrated...”

“I understand... I think.” A sigh left his lips. “But you, Jonign... You helped me so much, and yet you stayed so far away from me. We were close, weren’t we?” Jongin froze. But he knew that now the only option was the truth. “You are that person I can’t remember...” The pain of seeing Kyungsoo’s teary gaze and hearing his voice cracking was unbearable. He, again, wasn’t looking at him.

“Kyungsoo... yes... there’s no point in hiding it anymore. I’m sorry. I can’t tell you more. You would have done the same...”

“Maybe I would...” He took in a shaky breath. His lower lip was trembling as he tried so hard not to cry in front of Jongin. It was painful, but also... relieving. Kyungsoo wanted to remember. And although he couldn’t, that didn’t mean they had to be apart.

“Kyungsoo,” the taller boy’s warm hand was now on his shoulder, hesitating. He was moments away of holding him close. “We’ve known each other’s for a few years. _Only_ a few years. We were friends but... many more years are ahead of us.” Jongin smiled with watery eyes, and the smile turned into a grin when Kyungsoo’s gentle, wide eyes settled on him. There was hope in them. Hope for the future.

“We’ll make new memories, right?” he spoke softly, afraid of being hopeful. “That’s possible, right? We don’t have to pay with our futures too?”

“No.”

And he finally have the courage to bring Kyungsoo close and hug him, kiss his forehead and assure him that they’ll be alright.

 

 

 

 

“Are the kids doing fine? I heard they finished their journey.” Xiumin smiled at Yixing, his image stark and radiant in his dark room. The latter could almost smell the smoke of his pipe, floating lazily, seeming so close, but as far away as another Universe. He returned the smile and nodded in response.

“Yes, they’re fine... for now. They looked happy... and Kyungsoo... he’s back to normal.” Yixing’s guilty feeling hadn’t dissipated completely, but seeing the prince and Jongin return safe and sound was a huge relief. Albeit it was his fault, Yifan forgave him, and Kyungsoo as well, after confessing his terrible mistake.

“Well, I’m glad. Don’t worry about it too much. We all make terrible mistakes at some point.”

“I can’t not worry when I put them in so much danger.”

“But they’re alright now. Anyway, what about Chen and Tao? Did they get back? Are they fine?” Xiumin spoke with his usual calm, his concern obvious but collected.

“Tao was injured, but after he got a little better he returned home.”

“I see. He’s probably fine now. I should talk to Victoria...” he spoke to himself, ignoring Yixing’s questioning gaze. “He probably learned something in this journey. And the wizard?”

“He’s still here for now. He said he’s not sure of what he wants to do now. He seems burdened by something. I don’t know yet what happened to him, I thought it wasn’t my business to meddle in... he seems lost... But he’s also happy when he’s with Kyungsoo and Jongin.”

“I see... Well, I guess that’s life... Now tell me about Jongin. Does he know?”

“Yes. He now knows of his past. It was hard for him to understand and accept. What... What will happen to him?” Xiumin took a long drag from his pipe. Taking his time to exhale the smoke. Yixing was too worried to be thankful that he wasn’t actually in the same room with Xiumin.

“Clow Reed visited me last night, in my dream. The boy can live.” The other smiled, relieved. But only for a moment.

“There are consequences for that, right? Tell me.”

“There are always consequences. But Jongin doesn’t have to concern himself with them. Clow paid his price. He made a wish and I will grant it. He will be reborn. With neither his powers nor his memories.” A pained frown showed for only a moment. “He’ll suffer. His life will not be easy.” He stared at the white smoke surrounding him for several seconds. “But you don’t need to concern yourself with that. Those kids deserve their happiness.”

**Author's Note:**

> I finally finished this after two years... Comments would be very very VERY welcomed


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